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5 Original Ideas for Storing Your Books

5 minutes
Finding somewhere to keep all your books can be difficult. Here are a couple of ideas for how you can store your books so that they have a home of their own and become part of your decor.
5 Original Ideas for Storing Your Books
Last update: 16 June, 2020

With these five original ideas for storing your books, your house will not only be stylish but also much more organized. Books are an important part of life, so it’s always useful to have some unique ideas for how to store them. With these tips, you’ll see that there are many places where you can give your books a home.

Bookcases are not the only places where you can store books. There are many other places where you can keep them and always have them to hand. It’s possible that some of your books have become very important to you and so you’ll want to store them somewhere safe.

Despite new technologies, such as ebooks, people still read paper books. There are many nostalgic readers who love to read books and to feel the paper as they turn the pages.

If you’re struggling for space, the best thing to do is to keep only the books that mean something to you and donate the others. Another option is to borrow the books that interest you from libraries so you can return them when read. That way, you won’t accumulate books over time.

It’s also worth considering your home and how you can best store books. No matter if you have lots or only a few books, the aim is to keep them organized and stored in an appropriate way. Here are five original ideas for how to store your books.

1. Turning a staircase into a bookcase

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One of the best ways to make the most of the space under your staircase is to transform it into a small library. If you have stairs in your home, then this could be the perfect place for storing your books.

Generally speaking, the space under staircases is rarely taken advantage of, despite it having a lot of potential. It’s easy to overlook this space, but it’s worth considering that it can be the solution to your storage problem. For example, you could place shelving above or below your staircase to store your books.

Why not fit a bookcase under your staircase to make the most of this corner in your home?

2. Original ideas for storing your books – above doorways

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Working with a small space or with rooms that have little space available forces us to think creatively. This is when you need to think of practical ideas that’ll make your home more comfortable. 

If you’re searching high and low to find somewhere to store your books, then take a look at the space above your head the next time you walk through a doorway. The space between the door frame and the ceiling could the perfect place to store some of your books.

It’s quite common to find shelving or a small mantle above the doorways in many homes. This is not only a practical solution, but it also doesn’t require too much effort to create. The shelving won’t get in your way as you go about your daily routine and it will provide the extra space you need for your books.

Obviously it’s important to consider the height of your ceiling and the space between your door frames and ceiling. You shouldn’t store books in this way if you don’t have at least 50cm of space above your doorway.

3. Above or below windows

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If you’re struggling for space in your home, then the space underneath your windows could be the perfect solution. If your bookshelves are already full and you don’t know where to put the rest of your books, then just take a look under your window.

It’s really easy to overlook this space, but this could be the solution to your storage problem. The best way to make the most of the area is to build an open bookcase.

Another option could be to build a bookcase out of plasterboard around the window. Not only will this look great, but it also creates a double-layered wall. Remember, you can utilize the space above your windows, as much as below.

To finish the look off, you could place a cushion on top of your bookshelf to give you a seat where you can sit and read.

4. Using bookcases as room dividers

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In addition to providing somewhere to store your books, bookcases can also be used as room dividers. Although bookcases aren’t commonly used in this way, there are many different types that you could use in each of your rooms.

Regardless of whether your home is big or small, using bookcases as room dividers is always a good option. This is a simple way of separating rooms, as well as storing books.

You can use open or closed bookcases as room dividers, depending on whether you want to separate a room entirely or keep your spaces connected. For example, an open bookcase could be used to separate your living room from your eating space. 

On the other hand, if you want to create a more intimate space, you could use a floor-to-ceiling closed bookcase. This will help separate your room from other spaces.

5. Original ideas for storing your books inside furniture

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Storing your books inside furniture is a great idea for your most cherished books, those editions that you hold closest to your heart. This option will stop them from gathering dust or getting damaged by sunlight. However, if you want to show them off, you have the option of leaving the door to your furniture open.

If you have trouble getting up or moving, one option is to get an armchair with space for storing books. This will keep your books close to hand in your reading chair. There’s nothing better than filling your favorite chair with the books you’re reading or those that you want to keep close.

Choosing one of these five ideas for storing your books will not only mean your rooms are more organized, but it will also make them more decorative and stylish so that your reading areas reflect your personality.